New York — As delivered
“President Macron, Excellencies, distinguished leaders, colleagues and many dear friends thank you for coming together around a very simple but urgent proposition: that this is a critical moment in history, and children must come first.
“Across the globe, conflict, hunger, displacement, and climate shocks are converging and putting children’s lives at risk. Public budgets and international assistance are under severe pressure. And technology is reshaping childhood faster than safeguards can keep pace.
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“But children’s rights do not disappear when disaster strikes or budgets come under pressure.
On the contrary, protecting and upholding those rights becomes more urgent in times of crisis, not less.
“This principle is at the heart of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which establish that children are not simply adults in the making. They are human beings with rights, here and now.
“Today’s Child Summit and the Children First Declaration offer an opportunity to put children and their rights at the heart of political decisions.
“Because sustainable peace depends on children being safe, healthy, nourished, learning, and having the opportunity to shape their own futures.
“Yet for millions of children, their futures are under threat.
“In conflicts around the world, children are being killed, injured, recruited, and abducted. Schools, hospitals and water systems are being destroyed. And humanitarian access is being denied when it is needed most.
“At the same time, declining investment is undermining the foundations of peace.
“More than 500 million children live in countries where debt burdens are outpacing investment in health, education, and nutrition.
“Cutting spending does not eliminate children’s needs. It simply shifts the costs to the future — through preventable deaths, lost opportunities, inequality, and instability.
“And in the digital world, artificial intelligence offers extraordinary opportunities for learning, inclusion, and better services. But without safeguards, it exposes children to new and dangerous risks.
“We cannot wait for those harms. Children’s rights must be protected from the start.
“So today, I urge leaders to make four key choices.
“First, choose protection over impunity.
“Use your political and diplomatic influence to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law. Protect children and the essential services they depend on. Ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access. And demand accountability when children’s rights are violated.
“Second, choose investment over retreat.
“Protect national budgets and international financing for children’s health, nutrition, education, protection, social assistance and access to clean water and sanitation.
“Use debt relief, restructuring, and concessional finance to safeguard essential services, including during emergencies.
“Third, choose prevention over reaction.
“We have the tools to anticipate many crises — from climate shocks and disease outbreaks to rising famine risks.
“Early warnings must lead to early political decisions, flexible financing, and coordinated action.
“We must act before children’s lives are at risk, not after.
“Fourth, choose technology that protects children.
“Make digital and AI systems safe by design, with strong privacy protections, age-appropriate safeguards, and assessments of their impact on children’s rights.
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“And ensure that children themselves have a voice in the decisions shaping their digital lives.
“Excellencies. Eighty years ago, when Unicef was born, in the aftermath of a devastating world war, leaders made a choice. They chose to protect children and invest in their futures.
“Today, we face another defining moment.
“Let us choose children.
“In our diplomacy. In our budgets. In the conduct of war. And in the technologies shaping their future.
“Let us make the Children First Declaration more than a statement of intent. Let it be a commitment to action — and to a world where every child’s rights are protected, every child’s voice is heard, and every child has the opportunity for a decent life.
“Thank you very much.”